RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence of child maltreatment-related hospitalizations for children under 3 years for the population of Washington State. STUDY DESIGN: A population-based study using retrospective linked administrative data for all children born in Washington State from 2000 through 2013 (n = 1 191 802). The dataset was composed of linked birth and hospitalization records for the entire state. Child maltreatment-related hospitalizations were identified using diagnostic codes, both specifically attributed to and suggestive of maltreatment. Incidence were calculated for the population, by birth year, by sex, and by maltreatment subtype. RESULTS: A total of 3885 hospitalizations related to child maltreatment were identified for an incidence of 10.87 per 10 000 person-years. Hospitalizations related to child maltreatment accounted for 2.1% of all hospitalizations for children under the age of 3 years. This percentage doubled over time, reaching a high in 2012 (3.6%). More than one-half of all hospitalizations were related to neglect. Maltreatment-related hospitalizations occurred most frequently in the first year of life for all subtypes except for neglect, which occurred the most between 1 and 2 years of age. Male children had higher incidence than female children in general (11.97 vs 9.70 per 10 000 person-years) and across all subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalizations can be a useful source of population-based child maltreatment surveillance. The identification of neglect-related hospitalizations, likely the result of supervisory neglect, because the most common subtype is an important finding for the development of prevention programming.